VARIOUS KINDS OF POPLAR. 109 



The Abele is a beautiful and rather curi- 

 ous tree. The leaves have a silvery down on 

 the under side^ which shew elegantly when 

 agitated by the wind. The seeds of the tree 

 are clothed^ or winged^ with a considerable 

 quantity of very fine and white down^ which^ 

 in April or May, sometimes fills neighbouring 

 houses with flue, as though all the beds had 

 been beaten to pieces. I cannot help think- 

 ing, that this substance, resembling cotton, as 

 it does, might be spun and woven for the same 

 purposes ; but I have never heard of its having 

 been tried. The wood of the tree is white and 

 soft, and useful for turnery ware ; and as it 

 shrinks or warps very little when sawed into 

 boards, it is frequently used for flooring ; but 

 it is not durable. 



The Aspen is chiefly remarkable on ac- 

 count of its quivering trembling leaves, which 



